Jimmie Johnson will have a new pit crew for the final two races of the Sprint Cup season. That might buoy the flagging fortunes of the four-time defending series champion, but it won't have an impact on the team he trails in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

After Denny Hamlin won Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway to take a 33-point lead in the standings, crew chief Mike Ford stressed several times (and often bluntly) during a postrace news conference that his No. 11 team wasn't backing down from Johnson's No. 48, which has seemed impervious during the closing stages of the Chase in the last four years.